Automatic wiper for freshly-galvanized wire.



PATENTEDVOGT. 9, 1906,

W. S. MYERS. AUTOMATIC WIPER FOR FRESHLY GALVANIZED .WIRB.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 31. 1906.

lmhwooea UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC WIPEF! FOlR FRESHLY-GALVANIZED WIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Oct. 9, 1906.

Application filed March 31, 1906. Serial No. 309,131.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM S. MYERS, a citizen of the United. States, and a resident of Ashland, county of Boyd, and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Automatic Wipers for Freshly-Galvanized Wire, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to automatic wipers for freshly-galvanized wire.

Galvanized wire as it comes from the galvanizing-trough has to be wiped to take off the surplus galvanizing material. As the wire comes from the bath it is provided at intervals with splices marking the connection between two sections. These splices will not pass through the wiper, and the general practice has been to station a man at the wiper to operate it to permit the splices to pass therethrough. As the wire moves very quickly and as the man generally attends to a large number of the wipers, a great loss of wire takes placeowing to the fact that the wiper is opened too soon and closed too late. Attempts have been made to provide wipers which will operate automatically; but these machines have never come into general use, either owing to the great expense incident to their manufacture or to certain imperfections in their constructions.

It is an object of my invention to provide anautomatic wiper of this type that will be inexpensive to manufacture and that will be simple and effective in its operation.

Other and further objects will appear in the following description and will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the fingers.

Referring particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates a casting having a base 2 to be secured a short distance from the galvanizing-trough. (Not shown.) The casting is provided with a-vertical slot 8,in the lower portion of which is seated a lower wipingblock '4, carrying asbestos 5 and provided with flanges 6 at one end to engage the side of the casting 1 adjacent the slot. These flanges 6 prevent the block traveling with the wire, which moves in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, and also permit the easy removal of the block and the insertion of another when the block becomes coated with the galvanizing material. Also located in the slot 3 is an upper or movable wipingblock 8, which is provided with flange 9 at one end for the same purpose as the flanges 6 and with a recess 10 and a T-shaped slot 11,

leading from the recess at the other end. It.

is also provided with an asbestos surface 8"*. The purpose of the slot 11 will be hereinafter set forth.

Bolted to the top of casting 1 is a second casting or frame 12, having a vertically-slot ted post 13, in. which is mounted a verticallymovable plunger 14, having its lower end provided with a T-shaped head 15 to engage in the slot 11 of the upper wiping-block 8. It is apparent that when the upper Wipingblock 8 is moved inthe direction opposed to the direction of movement of the wire it will become disconnected from the plunger-head 15. The plunger 14 is held in its depressed position by a coil-spring 16, which seats at its lower end on a plate 17, bearing against the top of the plunger, and which seats at its upper end against a plate 18. The upper. plate 18 is perforated to permit a spring-rod 19 to work therethrough. J ournaled in the upper end of the post 13 is a screw 20, which is provided with a handle 21, by which said screw is turned, and with an axial bore 22 to receive the spring-rod 19 when the plunger 14 is elevated. By means of the screw the tension on the spring 16 may be regulated, and consequently the pressure of the upper wiping-block 8 may be controlled.

The wire 7, as before mentioned, is spliced, as at 23, and leads into and out of the wiper on a slight incline, so as to produce a slight pressure on the lower wiping-block. On each side of the wiper there is located a roller 24, the roller nearest the galvanizing-trough acting to partially clear the wire. The plunger 14 is elevated by a mechanism controlled by the above-mentioned splices. This mechanism comprises a bell-crank lever 25, pivoted at 26 between a pair of arms, forming a bracket 27, extending from the frame 12. This bell-crank lever carries a finger 28 at the lower end of one of its arms said finger being provided with arecess 29 and a slot 30, leading to the recess. The finger is also pivoted at 31 to swing transverse of thewire and is guided in this movement by a curved flange 32 thereon working beneath an overhanging portion 33 on the lever. This pivotal movement of the finger is to prevent any lateral movements of the wire being transmitted to the pivot of the swinging arm and there by interfering with its free swinging movement. The arm 25 swings to the position shown in dotted lines when the finger is engaged by a splice 23. As it reaches the dotted-line position the finger frees the splice, and the splice travels through the wiper.

The arm 25 of thebell-crank lever is connected by a link 34 with one end of a liftinglever 35, which extends through a slot 36 in plunger 14 and is connected at its other end to a hnk 37. The link 37 depends from 2. lateral arm 38 on a bracket 39, which is supported by frame 12 on the side of the wiper opposite the bell-crank lever 25. To permit the lifting-lever to move freely in the slot 36 of the plunger 14, the slot has journaled therein a friction-roller 39, which rides on the upper face of lever 35. A small pin 40 on lever 35 prevents the swinging'of said lever. Said lever 35 is also provided with a series of openings 35, whereby the connection of the link 37 may be varied to increase or decrease the leverage of the lever 35.

To hold the movable wiping-block elevated after the arm 25 releases the splice and until the splice passes between the wiping-blocks, I provide the following means: The plunger 14 is provided with a ratchet-face 41, and a dog 42, pivoted at 43 to the bracket 39, is normally held against this ratchet-face and permits the elevation of the plunger, but prevents the dropping of the same. This dog 42 is connected by a link 52 with the arm 44 of a second bell-crank lever 44, pivoted at 45 to the bracket and having an arm 44 depending toward the wire. At its lower end the arm is provided with a finger 46, which is pivoted at 47 and has a flange 48 thereon engaging beneath an overhanging portion 50 on the lever. The function of this mounting of the finger is the same as the function of the mounting of the finger 28. The swinging arm 44 carries a weight 51, which normally holds the arm so that its finger straddles the wire and which also holds the dog 42 into engagement with the ratchet 41. After the wire-splice 23 has swung the arm 25" so that the plunger 14 and its wiper-block are elevated the dog 42 enters into engagement with the ratchet. Shortly after the splice passes between the wiper-blocks it engages the other finger 46 and swings the arm 44', thus causing a pulling action on the dog 42 and releasing the plunger 14, which moves, under the action of the spring 16, to lower the upper wiper and move the wiper-separating arm to its original position. The wiper-releasing arm 44 moves to its normal position after the splice has swung said arm out of its path.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a pair of wiper-blocks, one of which is movable, a swinging arm, having connection with the movable block to move it, and a finger to be engaged by a splice in the wire, a dog to hold the movable block away from the other block, and a swinging arm connected to the dog to release the movable block, having a finger to be engaged by a splice in the wire.

2. In a wiping-machine of the class described, the combination of the slotted plunger, a wipin -block carried thereby, a liftinglever eXten ing through the slotted plunger, a swinging link connected to one end of the lifting-lever, a link connected to the other end of the lever, a pivoted bell-crank lever connected to the other end of the second link, and a finger carried by the free arm of the bell-crank lever and constructed to be en gaged by a splice in the wire.

3. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a wiping-block, a swing-lever connected with said block to move it, and a finger to be engaged by a splice in the wire pivoted to the lever to swing transversely of the wlre.

4. In a wiping-machine of the class de scribed, a wiping-block, a swing-lever connected with said block to move it, and provided with an overhanging projection, and a finger to be engaged by a splice in the wire, pivoted to the lever to swing transversely of the wire, and having a curved flange turning under the overhanging projection.

5. In a wiping-machine of the class described, the combination of the plunger, having a T-shaped lower end, and a wipingblock having a T-shaped slot at the end opposite that one to which the wire is first fed.

6. In a wiping-machine of the class described, the combination with the plunger, of a wiping-block, and connection between the plunger and the wiping-block permitting the block to be removed by sliding the block in the direction opposed to the direction of movement of the wire through the wiper.

7. In a wiping-machine of the class described, the combination of a slotted casting and a pair of wiper-blocks fitted in said casting and having flanges to engage the casting at their receiving ends.

8. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a movable wiper-block, a swinging arm for effecting the movement of said block, a finger carried by said arm to be engaged by the splices in the wire, and a roller over which the wire passes before it reaches the arm, whereby some of the surplus is removed to prevent clogging of the finger.

9. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a movable wiper, a slotted post, a plunger connected to said wiper and movable in the slotted post, a coil-spring bearing on the top of the plunger, a plate at the up- IOO per end of the spring, a spring-rod surrounded 1 o by the spring, and an axially-bored screw engaging the plate at the upper end of the spring.

10. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a plunger, a wiping-block carried by the plunger, means automatically moving the plunger before a splice reaches the wipingblock, a dog holding the plunger in elevated position, and a swinging arm connected with the dog and having a finger to be engaged by the splice and operate the arm to release the do T1. In a wiping-machine .of the class described, a plunger, a wiping-block carried by the plunger, means automatically moving the plunger before a splice reaches the Wipingblock, means for holding the plunger in its moved position, and a swinging arm connected with said means and having a finger to be engaged by the splice tooperate the arm and release said holding means.

12. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a plunger, a wiping-block carried by the plunger, means automatically moving the plunger before a splice reaches the wiping-block, means for holding the plunger in its moved position, and a swinging arm connected with said means and having a finger to be engaged by the splice to operate the arm and release said holding means, said finger having a movement transverse of the wire.

13. In a wiping-machine of the class described, a plunger, a wiping-block carried by the plunger, means automatically moving the plunger before a splice reaches the wiping-block, a dog holding the plunger in elevated position, a swinging arm connected with the dog and having a finger to be engaged by the splice and operate the arm to release the dog, and a weight carried by said arm and moving the dog and the arm to nor mal position when the latter is released by the splice.

14. The combination with the movable wiper-block, of a spring-pressed slotted plunger moving said block in one direction, a lifting-lever movable in the slotted plunger, a roller journaled in the plunger and bearing on the lever, a swinging link having an adjustable connection with one end of the lever, a second link connected to the other end of the lifting-lever, a pivoted bell-crank lever connected to the other end of the second link, and a finger carried by the free arm of the bell-crank lever.

15. The combination with the movable wiper-block, of a spring-pressed slotted plunger moving said block in one direction, a lifting-lever movable in the slotted plunger, a roller journaled in the plunger and bearing on the lever, a swinging link having an adjustable connection with one end of the lever, a second link connected to the other end of the lifting-lever, a pivoted bell-crank lever connected to the other end of the second link, a finger carried by the free arm of the bell-crank lever, a dog to hold the plunger in the position to which it is moved by the lifting-lever, a second bell-crank lever linked to the dog, and a finger carried by the free end of the second bell-crank lever.

16. The combination with the movable wiper-block, of a spring-pressed slotted plunger moving said. block in one direction, a lifting-lever movable in the slotted plunger, a swinging link having an adjustable connection with one end of the lever, a second link connected to the other end of the lifting-lever, a pivoted bell-crank lever connected to the other end of the second link, and a finger carried by the free arm of the bell-crank lever.

The foregoing specification signed at Ashland, Kentucky, this 22d day of March, 1906.

WILLIAM S. MYERS.

In presence of RICHARD D. DAVIS, LEWIs N. DAVIS. 

